ARS AK Pistol Build

AK-47 (AKM) Build (Draft)

(updated 04-03-08)

Introduction

This tutorial is for building an AKM from a Romanian "G" parts kit and a NoDak Spud NDS-3 receiver. While there are many principles that are applicable to other receivers and parts kits, some of the specifics are unique to the NDS-3 receiver. This tutorial does not cover folding an AK flat. This is not the only way to build an AK, but it is the way I have found to be most time and cost effective. I developed these instructions through my experience with over 400 AK builds. Many of the tools you will see are not cost-effective for building just one or two rifles. I will examine, where appropriate, lower-cost alternatives to the tools that I use.

This tutorial is protected under Federal Copyright Laws. You may provide a link to it, but you may not publish it elsewhere. If you have suggestions for improving this tutorial, or something is unclear, please e-mail me and I will see about editing it. Do not call or e-mail me for help with your build.

Before We Begin

Make sure that the finished rifle will comply with all federal, state and local laws. Use appropriate safety equipment, particularly eye protection.


Disassembling (Demiling) the Parts Kit
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Wood Furniture
	remove metal componants from wood and cut off front pistol grip from lower handguard if desired. I use a tablesaw with the handguard at a 5 degree angle. Then witha 5 degree angle block and a 2" ball end mill, I rough out the contour. This is time-efficient for doing many handguards one after the other, but can easily be done by hand with a wood rasp
	This simple tool is for holding the lower handguard securely while reshaping
	reshape lower handguard. Maintain the 5 degree angle or you will break through to the cleaning rod hole
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	apply methylene chloride stripper per product instructions. For large quantities of stocks, I soak in a 50-50 mix of acetone and methylene chloride. Do not soak the upper handguard as it may warp. scrape/scrub with stiff brush and rinse with water. sand with 100 grit soak in 50% bleach solution for 15 minutes and rinse. then soak in vinegar for 15 minutes and rinse. Dry in cool location. Do not accelerate drying Do not soak upper handguard. It is not laminated like the other pieces. Manually sand only. There is no nee to remove all of the original color as the dye will cover it, and some tracers of lighter and darker shades will more closely match the laminated lower handguard.
	patch voids and cracks in laminate wood with 5 minute clear epoxy as needed
	sand smooth with 200 grit
	dye red
	apply one coat of laquer, thinned 10-20% with alcohol
	apply 4 more coats of straight laquer allow to dry several days, and buff with #0000 steel wool apply final coat of laquer, thinned 10-20% with alcohol. Allow to dry for a week. do not allow pieces to touch each other
	epoxy sharpened wood pegs into existing stock tank screw holes
	set recoil surface of stock back 1.0-1.25mm and bevel top edge. Lengthen tang slot by same amount
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Riveting Front Trunion
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Riveting Rear Trunion
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Additional Receiver Preparation
	fabricate plates thicker than the height of the rivets to hold the receiver in a vise without damage.
	cut the receiver (NDS-3 only) 1.0mm longer at the mag well. DO NOT compensate by trying to move the front trunion forward
	magazine well enlargement
	if using a double claw hammer, cut the second slot 4.25mm long.
	double claw clearance cut
	Installing the rear trunion rivets will cause the receiver and trunion to flex and shift as they seat into place. Examine the rear trunion length relative to the receiver. True the two surfaces so the shoulder stock will line up neatly.
	In this instance, the trunion stuck out slightly further than the receiver, so I machined the two parts to be even.
	Ream the left side trigger and hammer pin holes to 7.0mm. Ream the selector lever hole on the left side and the trigger and hammer pin holes on the right side to 5.0 mm
	The NDS-3 receiver is folded at angle slightly diverging from the trunion. This will result in an angular gap between the back of the lower handguad and the receiver. True the bottom front edge of the receiver to match the angle of the face of the front trunion.
	I find it useful, particularly when working with multiple receiver, to mark each step when completed. These marks tell me "holes reamed" and "Magazine fitting completed" I use similar marks for headspace, mag well chamfers, etc.
	chamfer these sharp edges. They will scatch up magazines, particularly the synthetic ones.

Riveting Trigger Guard and Adjusting Magazine Fit
	Rivet head forming punch. Note flat shoulder for holding in vise. Relief cut is to clear magazine catch
	recess for rivet head machined with ball end-mill
	rivet setting hammer made from bolt and installed in air-hammer cup (cup previously held prass tip). Note relief cuts to clear center support, and left and right receiver rails.
	Some rivet holes are countersunk, some are not. If not, use rivets without swell necks. I use swell neck rivets and countersink the holes on those trigger guards that are not already countersuk.
	Bend trigger guard if needed to make it flat. Lightly file upper side to remove any high spots
	adjust the height of the selector stop plate to xxxx". This dimension is specific to the Romanian G kit and NDS-3 receiver. for other receivers, install the trigger guard and selector stop plate using screws and nuts and check the fit of the magazine. Adjust the plate as needed and continue.
	Smooth any high points on the selector stop plate. open the radius of the tab on the slector stop plate. The NDS-3 receiver has a slighly larger radius at the fold than the original. This prevents a gap between receiver and the selector stop plate. Reduce protrusion on plate by approximately 50% (NDS-3 only)
	installing two rivets, one on each side to prevent parts from rotating, set the rivets. I use a second person to hold the receiver while I use the air hammer. After the first two rivets are set, install the second set. You may need to slightly chase one of the holes for the rivet to insert smoothly. Then do the rear trigger guard rivet.
	Rivets set. note the slight deformity of the rivet on the bottom left. While this is not a functional issue, to improve the cosmetics it can be reshaped with come careful work, or replaced.
	I selected several magazines of different manufacture with slight dimensional differences. The ovbjective is to have a full range of magazines fit without binding, and without excessive wiggle. The large 7.62x39 case head is forgiving of magazine height issues. The smaller 5.45x39 and 5.56 NATO case heads are less forgiving.
	there are two areas to check for magazine fit and they must be done in sequence. The first is the front to rear fit of the magazine without regard for the magazine catch. If the protrusion on the selector stop plate extends too far into the magazine well, it will bind on the wedge shape on the rear of the magazine and prevent complete insertion
	different view of protrusion
	If it extends too far into the magazine well, wedge the magazine catch in the depressed position with a screwdriver or similar item and carefully grind back the protrusion until the magazine fits snugly.
	The second area of fit is the height. This is the adjustment we previously made to the select9or stop plate. If the magazine catch does not fully engage, or does not release smoothly, reduce the thickness ot this plate by careful filing.

Installing US Gas Piston
	Chase threads with an adjustable die M12x1.25 adjusted as tight as it will go. This reduces the diemeter to the correct M11.75x1.25. Chase threads on piston as needed. Screw in US piston all the way and then back off 1/4 turn. Drill half wah through both sides with xxx" bit. Then all the way through with a xxx" bit. Then oversize the hole in the piston with a xxx" bit. (these dimensions are for a xxxx" diameter rivet.)
	flare the rivet with a hammer. multiple light taps. Keep the head collapsing straight down without bending to the side There should be slight wiggle to the piston. This is an intentional design feature and not "sloppy" manufacturer. The slight wiggle is to help the piston head find the gas block while the bolt carrier is bouncing around under recoil.
	My rivet setting hammer head.
	fully seat the rivet head so it fills the countersink on the bolt carrier. file or sand off excess and sand and polish until smooth

Installing Barrel and Checking Headspace
	barrel pressing tool
	clean trunion well
	lightly sand barrel shank
	clamp barrel firmly in aluminum blocks in heavy vise. Objective is to align barrel pin hole with barrel pin groove
	hammer against bolt carrier tool
	sometimes on tight barrels you will have to apply hammer to trunion directly. be very careful not to dent receiver
	watch through hole for front to rear alignment
	if front trunion is canted relative to the rear sight base, there is a small bit of adjustment you can make my hammer on the side of the trunion to rotate it.
	holes align
	clean hole thoroughly
	drive in barrel pin.
	barrel pin protrudes evenly on both sides
	clean chamber thoroughly. Remove firing pin and extractor from bolt.
	Insert GO gauge. Bolt should close. AKs are made for 30 pounds pressure on GO Gauge.
	If the gauge does not close insert a dummy round. DO NOT USE LIVE AMMO! There will be slight setback on initial firing in the realm of 0.0005"
	Insert a NOGO gauge, the bolt should not close

Finished
	finished AKM rifle
	finished AKM rifle - closeup
	finished AKM rifle - closeup
	finished AKM rifle - closeup
	finished AKM rifle - closeup

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